Jeffrey Friedl's Blog » It Has Begun: Cherry Blossoms in Kyoto

March 25th, 2008 4:56pm JST (4 years, 2 months ago)

A single cherry blossom sits among many buds on a branch during the early sakura season in Kyoto, Japan

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — ¹/500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
First Cherry Blossom
Kyoto, Japan · Spring 2008

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Well, at least the first that I've noticed. Returning from a trip to the store around 2pm, I noticed a few blossoms on the trees near my place. It's just in time, too, because as I noted in the last couple of posts, the plum blossoms have started to wane. So, I grabbed a few snapshots of them, and even turned a couple of ones with blue sky in the background into desktop backgrounds....

Cherry-blossom buds just starting to open, in Kyoto Japan

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — ¹/750 sec, f/4.5, ISO 320 — full exif & map — nearby photos

Branches of a cherry tree laden with buds, but no cherry blossoms, in Kyoto Japan

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 102 mm — ¹/320 sec, f/8, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Most Trees Still Like This

Using the time-lapse sequence I made last year as a guide, it seems that these trees have started to bloom about one day earlier than last year.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 150 mm — ¹/3200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 320 — full exif & map — nearby photos

A few cherry blossoms adorn branches filled with buds, early in the sakura season, in Kyoto Japan

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — ¹/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos

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March	14th,	2008	Cherry Blossom Timelapse: Fleeting Floral Fireworks
March	24th,	2008	Late to the Party: Plum Blossoms at the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine
March	29th,	2008	Pink Sakura, Green Fuzzies, some Brass, and a Motorcycle Cop
April	5th,	2008	Cherry-Blossom Full Bloom Hits Kyoto
January	6th,	2009	Japan's 2009 Cherry-Blossom Season Off to an Early Start

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Comments so far....

Can’t wait to see more. Try to shoot them in a new way this year! Here in DC, we have a lot of cherry blossom trees near the river, which should be in full bloom within a week… can’t wait. I will be sure to see them this year and hopefully get some great shots.

— comment by Jon on March 28th, 2008 at 12:43pm JST (4 years, 2 months ago) — comment permalink